Chapter 147: Confirmation of Death for All Drug Users
When money was mentioned, even Vermouth, who was currently on a mission, could be pulled in to help. It seemed Vermouth wasn't too busy at the moment. He wondered what mission she was working on.
"Bourbon is in Japan too?" Natsukawa asked in surprise.
He'd thought Bourbon was in Europe or America. After all, he'd been infiltrating the Organization for a while now, and Gin had never mentioned Bourbon's name before.
"Don't ask about things you shouldn't. Tell me about your money-making scheme!"
Gin's voice turned colder, and the static on the phone disappeared, indicating he'd just parked.
Then came the sound of a lighter and the intake of smoke.
Clearly, Gin was waiting for his answer.
To improve his standing within the Organization and obtain more operational intelligence, Natsukawa came up with a morally questionable idea.
Actually, it wasn't that terrible—he still had some conscience, and his scheme wasn't targeting innocent people.
"You know about the Suzuki Financial Group, Japan's top conglomerate, right?" Natsukawa chuckled, not bothering to keep him in suspense any longer. "I've heard that Suzuki Jirokichi, an advisor to the Suzuki Group, is extraordinarily wealthy and incredibly generous."
"You mean kidnapping the Suzuki Group's advisor?" Gin's voice turned ice cold, clearly annoyed.
Wasn't this a terrible idea? As one of Japan's premier conglomerates, the Suzuki Group was under constant public scrutiny. Didn't Tequila understand the massive trouble kidnapping Suzuki Jirokichi would cause?
"Of course not. Suzuki Jirokichi is definitely untouchable, but..."
"But what? Spit it out, or I'll put a bullet in you."
Gin's personality was just like that, so Natsukawa didn't take offense and continued:
"I heard Suzuki Jirokichi has a dog he absolutely adores. Apparently, he even bought a luxury villa for this dog named Lupin, complete with chauffeur service, seven or eight dog sitters, and even its dog bowl is studded with diamonds. It must be the wealthiest dog in the entire world.
If we could kidnap this dog, we could probably extract a massive ransom from Suzuki Jirokichi. The amount would definitely be no less than what Miyano Akemi's bank robbery yielded—possibly even more."
Suzuki Jirokichi could spend hundreds of billions of yen on a sunflower painting, so he'd certainly pay even more for his beloved dog.
Natsukawa's estimate was conservative. If they actually kidnapped the dog, the ransom would only be higher, not lower.
Vodka swallowed hard, his eyes gleaming with interest.
Looking at the ransom note in his hand, the 500 million yen demand suddenly seemed insignificant.
Damn it! Kidnapping that dog named Lupin seems far more profitable! I can't believe I didn't think of this brilliant idea—Tequila beat me to it! How frustrating!
"Given Suzuki Jirokichi's personality, if the dog is kidnapped, his first instinct won't be to call the police. He'll definitely prepare the ransom immediately.
For wealthy people like him, anything that can be solved with money isn't a real problem. He'd much rather pay the ransom than have police intervention endanger the dog's life."
After Natsukawa finished speaking, the other end remained silent.
Gin was calculating the pros and cons. After a long moment, he realized there were only benefits and no drawbacks.
"I'll consider it seriously. This idea is indeed excellent."
Gin praised Natsukawa several times, his words conveying genuine admiration.
Natsukawa hung up the phone and sighed.
Sonoko, it's your fault for showing off that luxury car in front of me. I never expected it belonged to your family.
The next morning, Natsukawa arrived at Shirahata Pharmaceutical early.
Learning that Sherry had returned to the research lab, Natsukawa was certain of his suspicions.
With research material supply cut off recently, Sherry definitely wouldn't be in the lab unless she had something specific to do.
So there was only one reason she was glued to the lab right now!
She was comparing Conan's and Shinichi's DNA samples!
The experiment had stalled, and everyone else was enjoying a hard-won moment of relaxation, leaving Sherry alone in the laboratory.
Natsukawa walked over and found Sherry staring blankly at a report in her hand, so absorbed that she hadn't even noticed his arrival.
"What are you looking at?"
Sherry startled, her hand trembled, and the report fell to the floor.
Natsukawa chuckled and helped her pick it up, placing it back on the table. A quick glance at the report revealed both Shinichi Kudo and Conan Edogawa's names.
So she's already discovered it?
"Why are you here?" Sherry tried to appear calm, finishing reading the report before putting it in a folder.
"How was it? I arranged for you to go out and get some fresh air for a few days. How did it go? Did you find any breakthrough in the APTX-4869 research?"
"No, all the drug subjects died. It was useless." Saying this, Sherry typed a few commands on the computer, and a list printed out.
"All those who took the drug have died. Here's the list. It seems APTX-4869 is still quite far from success."
She checked the list in her hand, then handed it to Natsukawa. "This list needs your signature for verification."
Natsukawa didn't immediately take the list, instead giving a knowing smile. "That's truly unfortunate. I thought you might discover something extraordinary."
"No!" Sherry shook her head firmly.
Sherry always felt that Tequila was acting strangely. Compared to their previous meetings, Tequila seemed different these past two times, as if he were a completely different person.
Hadn't Gin noticed this change? She always felt uneasy under Tequila's gaze.
Every time he spoke to her, she felt like he could see straight through her—a very uncomfortable sensation.
Actually, this behavior was only directed at Sherry. Natsukawa acted quite professionally in front of Gin. The reason he behaved this way with Sherry was partly to tease her, but mainly to make Sherry realize there was something off about Tequila's persona.
This was related to Natsukawa's subsequent plans.
"Since you've said so, I'll sign it. But I'll still show it to Gin later for verification."
"Whatever."
Sherry shrugged and sneered. "But I'd advise you not to get too close to Gin. That man kills without blinking an eye. The only person he trusts is Vodka. You'd better keep your distance."
"That's none of your concern, Miss Sherry. I'm not working for Gin—I'm working for the Boss."
"Heh!" Sherry crossed her arms, showing her disdain.
"I want to meet with my sister. When can you arrange that?"
More than anything else, she cared about her sister. She also wanted to find a way to pass along the information she'd discovered. If her sister held this leverage, Gin would definitely have some reservations about acting against them.
"In a few days!"
Natsukawa frowned thoughtfully. This could only be arranged after Gin decided whether to act on the kidnapping scheme.
If they wanted to rescue Miyano Akemi, they had to distract Gin with other more pressing matters. Otherwise, given Gin's cautious nature, he might personally handle the Miyano sisters' situation.
Sherry clearly didn't realize Natsukawa was acting in her best interest and looked annoyed. She felt he wouldn't even accommodate such a small request, showing no sincerity whatsoever.
Because her sister was still under Natsukawa's control, she could only swallow her anger.
However, if she met Gin later, she would definitely file a complaint about Tequila!
She'd say that Tequila was disrespectful and had inappropriate thoughts about her!
(End of Chapter)
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